Hermès Parades Its Housewares Through Santa Monica

The French house staged its meticulously crafted interiors pieces in live, ever-changing theatrical tableaux

Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL

Hermès Maison artistic directors Charlotte Macaux Perelman and Alexis Fabry gathered a trove of Los Angeles guests for an immersive evening performance, Hermès Parade: A Live Story of the Home Collection, held at Santa Monica’s Barker Hanger on Thursday, March 21. A mix of interior designers, actors, and creatives including Pamela Shamshiri, Brigette Romanek, Athena Calderone, John C. Reilly, Chloe Fineman, Casey Affleck, Aimee Song, Chriselle Lim, Alex Prager, Simon Dargan, Alanna and Philippe Bélanger, and Olivia Lopez were on hand for the unveiling of furniture, textiles, lighting, and tableware. Wooden crates containing porcelain tea sets, woven blankets, plump pillows, leather-covered occasional tables, jewelry boxes, nesting bowls, Pippa folding leather armchairs, the Equilibre table and chairs Jasper Morrison created for the French house, and many more accessories were toted by more than 50 dancers who created a roving series of scenes with the designs, choreographed by Philippe Decouflé, throughout the evening.

Each object got a turn in the spotlight, from spontaneous solo chair dances to a catwalk presentation complete with tumbling passes by performers clad in navy overalls or boiler suits. Guests, cocktails in hand, moved freely between passing ensembles and larger mise-en-scène presentations. On the runway, Passifolia and Soleil d’Hermes plates, plus trays and wicker baskets were all passed between the artists with nary a bobble as they cartwheeled, flipped, and spun around each other. Mongolian yak cashmere blankets hung above and below resting dancers who mimed waking up to start their day. A chess match requiring the troupe’s intricate acrobatics to move pieces across the board — choreographed to Prokofiev’s dramatic “Dance of the Knights” in his Romeo and Juliet ballet — culminated in a heroic checkmate. Before the evening’s end, onlookers themselves took to the dance floor alongside the performers mimicking Pony Dance steps, a nod to the house’s equestrian roots.